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Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Laundry, yes I enjoy doing laundry. Call me crazy, I know, but I get great satisfaction when our clothes are clean and put away. I even like the process, sorting, washing, drying, ironing, folding, etc., etc., etc. I believe I made a post long ago on another blog of mine where I simply talked about ironing. So one of the selling points about this new house of ours was the laundry area.

In Ashville (our first house) I had a small closed room, more like a closet, next to the furnace that my washer and dryer sat in, with an awesome laundry/hamper/folding table (that Mike built)sitting just outside the space. It worked, but it was not quite a "laundry room". Well now I have one and it's finished. Well it was in pretty good shape before I got my hands on it, but it just didn't have any personality.

So I came up with an idea to make this new laundry room more efficient and happier. I told Mike what I was looking for and our task for this room was to not purchase anything new, and to only make things out of what we already had.

So first thing was some color. I had about a half a gallon of some turquoise paint left over from some furniture I had painted earlier in the year and since it was Behr paint (I love Behr paint) I knew it would cover the area I needed. So I began the arduous process of cleaning, and taping the area. Now I am not sure this room had been dusted and or cleaned in quite some time so it literally took me longer to clean the room before hand than to actually paint it. (No photos of that process.)

Laundry room before, not bad but no color, no personality.

After a good coat of paint and some embellishments

One problem we ran into was when we pulled the dryer away from the wall the dryer hose pretty much disintegrated. Bless his heart it took Mike a good portion of the day to get this crazy thing removed and a new one put in. This project took so long because they literally ran the house under the house with two 45 degree angles and Mike had to literally saw away part of the floor and wall to access the old hose and be able to install the new one. And did I tell you we have a brick exterior. But his persistence prevailed and he was able to conquer this beast.

I have said it before and I will say it again "I AM BLESSED TO BE MARRIED TO SUCH A TALENTED MAN!!!"

One other thing I love about my laundry room is the laundry tub. This is the first one I've had and I love it. Being a crafty one I always have something that needs cleaned out, brushes, pallets, towels, etc. But in order for me to paint behind it, Mike had to remove it. He had a little help from our Miniature Schnauzer "Miss Mille".

Love my cute little laundry tub

Below the tub was a bit "gnarly" looking so I used some left over fabric from a previous chair project and made a skirt to hid the crud. So that there wouldn't be a constant towel laying around, which is what has been happening lately, Mike once again out did himself and came up with a towel rack he made out of some scrap lumber from his workshop. "Score" I also covered the light switch plates with some craft paper and decoupage and added a sheet of plastic behind the faucet to keep the paint and water splatter to a minimum. This piece was originally behind the stove in the kitchen. I am a messier crafter than I am cook.

Freezer space

When we first looked at this house, this space housed a full size freezer. The owner asked us if we wanted it and I opted for no, since it is only Mike and I the freezer on the fridge in the kitchen would be fine. So when it was gone it left this weird space in this room. We turned that space into the folding area and place for the clothes baskets. The clothes rod above was an old one I found in the attic here. Mike used parts of a bed that used to be our grandson Miles to make the frame of the shelving unit. The boards on the side are more of the boards that we had from the condo when they took down the old patio fence. Wow we have gotten a lot of use out of those things. The vinyl letters on the wall are left over from some old boat lettering that Mike wasn't using.

I added a few fun things like an old iron that my dear friend Katie Dum gave me, along with some clothes pins that were my Mom's, a large clothes pin I dug out of a box of stuff that was my sister in laws and a soap dish that I had picked up at a yard sale years and years ago.

And then I saw a cute sign on Pintrest and decided to make one of my own out of yes you guessed it, more of that fencing material. I finished the place off with a rug that I had gotten earlier in the year at a yard sale for less than $5.00. So no money was spent (other than the new dryer hose) and I now have a fun place to do my laundry. Master Bed Room is next on the list.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Saturday night Mike and I decided to pack a picnic dinner and head over to the Ft Macon Beach. We hadn't been there in a couple of weeks and I was really in need of some WAVES. So I made us some dinner, packed it in a cooler, we put on our suits and were on our way.

As in many southern coastal towns an afternoon rain doesn't last very long.

Ah you see a break in the clouds

By the time we arrived at the beach the storm clouds had blown away.

Crossing the bridge to Atlantic Beach

Many folks enjoying a great evening at the beach.

Mike brought his Boogie Board along and he had a blast. I loved taking photos of his adventure.

Mean Ninja face!

This is Mike swimming out, but oddly enough those are not his feet.

There was also two other gentlemen there surfing. I was able to catch this one once I cranked up the speed on my camera.

We brought just two chairs and our dinner, but that was really all we needed here to enjoy the evening.

Simple but effective.

They continue to dredge the channel

Such a relaxing evening!

The clouds began to roll back in later that evening, so that was our sign to start to head back home.

We did though stop for some ice cream on the way home and parked next to us was this cutie.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

We have spent the last week in Columbus visiting family and celebrating this little guys 2nd birthday.

Jacob with his Nana

Jacob was such a cutie at lunch. I loved is longer curly hair. Aunt Christy has beenout of town so he's not had a haircut recently, but I loved it just the way it was.

We arrived on Wednesday night and had plans of staying with our niece Faith and her husband Tim. They have the room and seem happy to open their doors to us. On Thursday I had lunch with Amanda, Jacob and Faith and picked up a couple of things for Kent's surprise graduation party.

Jacob just adores his aunt Fay, as he calls her.

After lunch we returned to Faith's for a little visit with Papa and to play with the blocks. Such aface of concentration.

I unfortunately have no pictures of Kent's party, but it was a big surprise and we all had a great time.

Saturday was Jacob's 2nd birthday party being held at my brothers. What a day that was. His Grandparents Nardin where in town along with Kent's sister Michelle and her little girl Katherine who is 2 weeks younger than Jacob. It was a beautiful day and once again we all had a terrific time.

There were lots of presents to open

Cousin Miles wanting to help

Mom and Dad were there to help too.

Batman Cupcakes, yum!

Jacob loved being able to eat his cupcake all by himself.

Cousins love cupcakes too!

Even Aunts love them.

Lots and lots and lots of playing outside.

Cousins taking turns.

Kind of looks like he is thinking about giving her a little push.

Hugging cousin Miles when he arrives.

Playing chase in the yard is always fun.

Or playing on the slide with Papa close by watching.

After the party Mike and I went for a visit to our daughter Kate's home and visit a while with her and Miles. I still can not get over how much Miles has grown. He is such a sweet little guy. I just love playing with him. Below are a few candid shots I took of him while he was listening to his Mom and Papa talk.

That night after the party was over I found our niece Faith laying on her bed and all the pups had joined her. I kept referring to her as the dog whisperer

On Sunday we had one last visit with Jacob. His parents needed a little time alone to get their stuff put together for their upcoming vacation that was starting the following day. So we took the birthday boy to the park for a walk then to Steak N Shake for lunch after that we stopped at the Mall and got a cookie. He was such a good boy.

A walk at the park

Nana took pictures of the summer flowers

What a face this little man can make.

Doing pretty good handling the juice box.

We spent Sunday night at the Kerns residence. They were so kind to let us keep the boat there overnight and us too for that matter. I just love their home and property, it's such a relaxing place to be.

Julie always has the best hummingbirds

And flowers

Julie making a delicious dinner. I think I caught her here in mid sentence.

The guys were shucking corn for dinner while the girls (pups) supervised.

Yummy Roasted veggies

The girls had a blast running around and playing with each other.

I just love these swings at the Kern's house.

Sweet little Buzz just sat quietly watching.

On Monday morning we were on our way back home to North Carolina. The day started out beautifully. Weather was cooler and dry and we got on the road with no problems. We actually saw Amanda and Kent (with Jacob) on their way to Hilton Head for their vacation on Route 23. Then shortly before lunch Mike was driving us through Charleston WV and he just gets this horrible look on his face and says we just blew two tires on the boat trailer. All I could think was CRAP. Mike handled the truck and trailer really well. We were able to get pulled off the freeway and onto a side street.

The tires were mere shreds, but luckily we didn't do any damage to the rims.

Nothing like hanging out on a side street waiting for road side assistance.

Millie was whooped!!! after a long stressful day.

Tuesday morning we were back on the road to NC. Arrived home about 1:30. It was a great visit with the family. We are though so happy to be home now and looking out our back window at the lovely greenery. Night all!